RealTalkBlog

Hello! I write this self-introduction to provide you with a little insight on who’s behind these posts and why I created this blog. My name is Stephanie Hayman. I’ve recently joined the Real Estate community here in the Gulf Coast of MS and I want to share everything I learn about the local real estate market (and the community), with those who take interest. The below narrative is a brief introduction of myself and a little context for how this blog came to be.

I was born and raised in central Mississippi (the Brandon/Flowood area). I moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2016 after graduating college with my first degree. My parents had moved down here while I was away at university and since Mom and Dad are where home is, I naturally followed suit. That year is the year I fell in love with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For context, growing up I always said I wanted to “get the hell out of MS”. Sure, some of that was probably the youth in me, trying to navigate the journey to independence. But when I moved down to the coast, and back in with my parents, for what I thought would be a temporary stay, I knew I was home. More specifically, I was in a place I could call my home, not just where family was located.

So, what was there to love? I want to say the water, but that’s an obvious answer. Except, not really. Well, not here in MS, anyways. You see, the beaches here don’t produce the bluest of waters, like the beaches in Florida, or the best of waves, like those in Cali. The water here is darker, one might even say “murkier” (although, that’s usually just weather-dependent). But the water here tells a story. You see, the MS Gulf Coast has a series of seven barrier islands that range up to 12 miles off the coast. Because of these islands, when hurricanes and storms come, and bring all the sea mud and sea debris in, the barrier islands act as, well, a barrier, and keep the sea-debris from washing back out. And that means the water appears a little darker. It’s clean water. It’s safe water. It just holds on to history in a way that other coasts don’t. And I find it kind-of fascinating. But the water I love here is not just the ocean water. The MS Gulf Coast is home to beautiful bayous and the Pascagoula River. That means on any commute of more than 10 minutes, you’re likely to cross a bridge and see a view. And, boy, are there some views. Especially at sunset and sunrise.

So, what else? The PEOPLE and PROXIMITY. The MS Gulf Coast is wedged between the Florida panhandle and the great New Orleans, LA. As a result, people on the coast are a lot more diverse and so much more laid back than the people of central Mississippi I was used to (no shade thrown to my home-town). I never knew how “uptight” life felt living in the Jackson metro area of MS. If you don’t know MS at all, you may think of rural farm-life and if that’s the case, you must wonder what I mean by “uptight”. Maybe I should say, suburban uptight. However, when you get south of I-10 (which runs east to west from FL to TX and parallel to the coastline in MS), you feel a weight lifted. There’s something about breathing coastal air that just makes people happier and it’s a domino-effect felt everywhere. Even where the water isn’t visible. Speaking of I-10, the proximity to a “good time”, is incredible. The MS Gulf Coast puts you right between two hotspots. You’ve got beautiful Florida beaches to the east and a fun-time in New Orleans (or a great airport and cruise port) to the west. One more thing on proximity I must mention is the proximity to local entertainment. There are countless local things to do here. Art festivals, great music, amazing food, a casino-district with spectacular night-life and vacation hot-spots line the beaches. Living here, if you do it intentionally, can feel like a mini-vacation year-round. It’s still small-enough, though, that it’s quaint and not over-crowded (I personally credit the barrier island “issue” I mentioned before to keeping this place from over-crowding- another reason why I like our murky waters, ha!)

To conclude, this place is a hidden gem. For those of you reading this who are very familiar with the MS Gulf Coast, you may find all this redundant and boring. Alternatively, if you were raised here, it might be “clicking” why so many people are moving here (even from places like CA and NY). Once people discover the quiet beauty of this place, they can’t unsee it. It draws you in. My husband moved here from Puerto Rico. He visited several other U.S. cities before visiting Gulfport, MS. And when he got here, he knew it was home. He only knew 1 soul who lived in MS when he moved, but he took the risk. He knew it was the place for him.

This last year, my husband and I bought our first home together here on the Coast. Since then, I’ve grown to appreciate real estate and what real estate agents do for a community. I decided to join the real estate community and my desire now is to share everything I learn about the local and general real estate market with those who are curious. And even some interesting things about the coast that make it so special to me!